The memorandum between Russia and the US to prevent air incidents in Syria is still suspended; the US is using other channels for its communications with Russia, a Russian military diplomatic source told Interfax on Saturday.

“The memorandum is suspended,” he said.

“By aviation measurements, the Syrian sky is very small. This is why America, through other already available channels, often asks us for authorization to enter this or that zone of Syrian airspace. We understand the importance of ensuring the safety of flights, and so we used to frequently make concessions. But no more,” Interfax’s source said.

According to the source, the memorandum envisaged constant collaboration between the Russian and American headquarters in order to prevent any incidents in Syrian airspace.

“Furthermore, a number of officers from the headquarters of our air group in Khmeimim have developed good personal relations with the Americans over the course of the contact. There is no such collaboration in the current format,” the source told Interfax.

The news agency’s informant said that Russia takes into account the routes of the aircraft  of the American coalition in Syria when making routes for its own aviation.

“The Russian means of objective control of the airspace, in conjunction with Su-30 fighter planes in the sky, monitor the flights of the international coalition. We take this information into account when making flight routes for our own air group,” the military diplomatic source said.

“The coalition does not possess such means of control in Syria and, accordingly, does not currently possess information about the routes, flight levels and areas of operation of our or Syrian aviation,” he said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday that Russia and the US are exchanging information on Syria through the existing channels. He noted, however, that one cannot speak officially about a renewal of the Russia-US procedure to avoid incidents in Syria.

  Russia, USA, Syria, Memorandum

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